The death of the WildCat Haven Sanctuary employee bitten by a cougar while apparently cleaning a cage will not be investigated as a crime, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Officials at the rural Sherwood sanctuary say that Renee Radziwon-Chapman, the head keeper, violated rules by entering a cage alone and with a hose. Radziwon-Chapman’s mother says her daughter complained about safety practices and was left alone with dozens of rescued wildcats, including bobcats, cougars and tigers.

For eight years, Radziwon-Chapman, a Portland resident, had been the head keeper at the eight-acre sanctuary, WildCat Haven said in a statement. The organization, founded in 2001, houses dozens of rescued wildcats.

Cheryl and Michael Tuller, the founders and leaders of the sanctuary, have been raising money to move to a much larger 82-acre rural Marion County facility. Michael Tuller, the company president, returned from a visit to the new sanctuary around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a Clackamas County Sheriff's deputy report.

He discovered Radziwon-Chapman, whose shift was supposed to end at 5:30 p.m., lying motionless in an enclosure. She was lying on her back, 10 feet from the cage door, the report says. Tuller dragged her by her boots to another cage and called 911.

Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputies and medical responders drove up the unlit private gravel road to the sanctuary. Inside, they reported seeing the keeper lying on her back behind a fence. Blood covered the ground. More blood, and what appeared to be Radziwon-Chapman’s tooth, were inside the fence, according to the sheriff’s report.

Two cougars strolled nearby. One had blood above its nose, the report says.

View full sizeRenee Radziwon-Chapman, 36, (seen here with her daughter, Noa Elise) died Saturday after being bitten several times by a cougar at the WildCat Haven Sanctuary near Sherwood. She was the sanctuary's animal care technician. Karine Aigner

An autopsy showed Radziwon-Chapman was bitten on her extremities and torso and was severely wounded on her neck and head, said Dr. Christopher Young, a state medical examiner's office spokesman.

Tuller told authorities that the death “should have never happened.” He said sanctuary officials must enter cages in pairs, according to the report. Radziwon-Chapman was the only staff member listed on the website.

The organization said in a statement Sunday that the keeper violated the handbook by being alone in the enclosure. Tuller also told deputies that Radziwon-Chapman improperly brought a hose in the cage.

He said Saturday was “not a normal day.”

Carol Radziwon, the keeper’s mother, lashed out at the suggestion that her daughter broke rules. She said her daughter complained to executive director Cheryl Tuller about the sanctuary’s safety practices two days before her death.

"She was left alone at that sanctuary,” Carol Radziwon, who lives in Pennyslvania, said. “She had no one to help her.”

The Tullers’ attorney issued a second statement early Tuesday morning saying two cats were not secured inside a lockout and that the organization continues to investigation. The statement did not address Radziwon's claims.

Radziwon-Chapman graduated from Portland State University with a degree in biology and had spent 20 years working with domestic animals and wildcats, according to a family statement.

“Renee’s life was taken so suddenly and tragically while doing the very thing that she cared so much about,” the statement read. “Her drive to help all animals made an impact that will stay with everyone she knew and many she didn’t know.”

Radziwon-Chapman is survived by her husband Aaron Chapman and five-month-old daughter Noa. Friends have started a donation page for Noa’s care at www.gofundme.com/57av7o.

View full sizeWildCat Haven Sanctuary is located on a private drive along a gravel road in rural south Sherwood. The sanctuary is near several houses built on the road, and some residents have told the Oregonian that the sanctuary makes for a low-key neighbor, despite the occasional cry or roar of a cat.Â
Fenit Nirappil/The Oregonian

The sanctuary is located on a private gravel drive on Heater Road, with multiple houses nearby, neighbors said.

“It’s like a fortress. They don’t even have a sign,” said Barbara Hitzemann, who has lived about a half mile away for nine years. Her best friend lives in a house right next to the haven. Hitzemann said while she gets the occasional whiff of rotted meat and hears the occasional roar, the facility is secluded and private.